Emergency exit



L. P. PERKINS EMERGENCY EXIT Feb. 28, 1950 Filed May 28, 1947 [Ill/11111117171114" Inventor Logan R Perkins Patented Feb. 28, 1950 UNITED ear e OFF-ICE,

EMERGENCY EXIT 1 LbgauPlPrkin's, Sulphur Lam Application May '28,- 1947,'Se'rialN0. "750,969

1 Clainn (Cl. 2541 5.9)-

invention; relatesatoanevw and useful im-v provements in emergencyezn'-ts,:-andr. the primary object of the present: invention-is towprcvidei a device-particulaely; adapted f 0151115611111 high :builde ings, homes and the like-thatwill. permit-a per son .to safely lower 'himselfl to the giounda-inz a.

and readily attached to any building structure for instant use.

A, still; furtherainrof-"the present inventionris to' provide a device"of-the character described that is simple and practical in construction, strong and reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise Well adapted for the urposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the emergency exit constructed in accordance with the present invention, with parts broken away and shown in section;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the manner in which the lugs mounted on the cable drum ride past the locking dogs when the cable drum is rotated without operation of the governor mechanism; and,

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the manner in which the lugs mounted on the cable drum are locked against the looking does when the cable drum is rotated to effect an operation of the governor mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein, for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral l0 represents a pair of upwardly. and iinwardlyzginclined side ,members;:-o1t

supports that: are suitahly secured to ,ZtvSllbStfil'letially rectangular baseplate IE2;

Journaled between the supportsis axshait it a on: which is. fixedly mounted aucable drums-l8 whichwrotatesuwith thezshaftx The shaft car-- ries" collars I 6 that: limit:theilongituclinal move ment of the shaftrelativetmthe supports.

' Secured. to onerlofzthe'ssuppurtsllandnrotatably supporting one end of the shaft: l i-iswa stationary sleeve 29,." Aacircul'ar geahuplate fi {is journalied for :rotation. onhtheusshaft' i l'wandl iszint'erposed; betweeniztheesleeve "1; 2 iltand; the scable drum; i 3; Thegear plate is-heldspacedl-irom tliesleevadii by;: a suitable :spacerzcollanizi 2221;.

Secured to ,1 the; sleeve 26. .israagovernor housing 24 in which brake shoes 26 are pivotally secured-:.

to an operating shaft 28 having 'an; enlarged tub-ularextremity -j ournaled min the, side swalls- :of housing 24, said brake shoes being oscillable to frictionally bear against the inner walls of the housing 24.

The enlarged tubular end includes a sleeve 30 carried by the housing, which sleeve is internally threaded at one end to receive a screw or the like 32. Slidably mounted in the sleeve is a plunger cap 34 that bears against the brake shoes 26, due to the urging from a coil spring 35 biased between the cap 34 and the screw 32.

Shaft 28 is journaled in a supporting bearing member 86 carried by the sleeve 29 and a pinion 38 is secured to the terminal portion of shaft 28 to engage the gear 22.

A plurality of circumferentially spaced pawls 40 are pivoted to plate 22, as at 2212, for engagement in arcuate slots 42 provided in the outer edge of a circular plate M that is integrally formed with the gear plate 22 which registers with one flanged portion 46 of the drum i8. On end of these paWls 40 is engaged by the free end 'of a spring arm 43 pivoted to plate 22 for normall retaining the pawls into the slots 42.

Pawls 40 are considerably thicker than the spring arms 43 and the lugs 50 are spaced laterally from the spring arms 48 so that the lugs will engage the pawls Without contacting the spring arms.

In practical use of the device, a cable (not shown), wound on the drum, is attached to the waist of a person in any suitable manner. The person merely steps out of an elevated window, and as the cable drum is rotated to unwind the cable, the lugs 50 will engage the relatively straight end edges 50a of the pawls 4%) to lock the drum to the gear 22 (see Figure 7) whereby the gear 22 and the drum rotate as a unit. As the gear 22 rotates with the drum, the pinion 38, engaged with the gear 22, is rotated to actuate the governor mechanism.

A crank handle 52 is provided at one end of the shaft I4 for rewinding the cable on the drum. During this rewinding operation, the lugs 58 follow the contour of the inner curved edges 5% of the pawls to pivot the pawls and to permit the lugs to clear the pawls (as shown in Figure 6). Since during this operation, the lugs 56 do not lock against the pawls, the gear 22 will not rotate and the governor mechanism is inoperative, thereby increasing the durability of the governor mechanism.

Obviously, although only one governor mechanism designated generally by the numeral 2c is operatively connected to the cable drum l8, as shown in the drawings, other such mechanisms may be mounted on the base plate 12 and connected to the cable drum to increase the safety factor for the efficient operation of the emergency exit without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction With the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the device Will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

An emergency exit comprising a base plate, a

pair of supports arising from said base plate, a stationary sleeve secured at one of its ends to one of said supports, a main shaft journalled for rotation on said supports and having a portion journalled for rotation in said sleeve, a governor mechanism carried by said sleeve and including an operating shaft, a gear journalled for rotation on said main shaft, a pinion on said operating shaft engaging said gear, a cable drum mounted on said main shaft for rotation therewith and including an end wall spaced from and in registry with said gear, a circular disk fixed to said gear and opposing the end wall of said drum, said disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses, a plurality of circumferentially spaced pawls pivoted to said gear and having corners received in said recesses, resilient means supported on said gear and yieldingly urging the corners of said pawls into said recesses, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced lugs on the end wall of said drum, said pawls having straight end edges for engaging the lugs to lock the drum to the gear for rotation of the gear and the drum as a unit during unwinding on the drum, said pawls having curved inner edges for engaging the lugs to permit the lugs to ride past the pawls during rewinding of the drum.

LOGAN P. PERKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 285,197 Yount Sept. 18, 1883 831,462 Noyer Sept. 18, 1906 

